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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Thursday - July 02, 2015

From: Dallas, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Erosion Control, Shrubs, Trees
Title: Rocky Stream Bank Plants for Dallas, TX
Answered by: Larry Larson

QUESTION:

Need live stake shrubbery or tree ideas for a rocky stream bank prone to high water. Thank you

ANSWER:

Mr Smarty Plants has answered a few similar questions, most of which are a bit more open in simply calling for erosion control plants.  The shrubs [and trees] suggested in these question/answer pairs should be good candidates:

Erosion Control with perennials for a shady Dallas bank

Shrubs for erosion protection in Arlington TX 

Plants to stop erosion on sandy slope in north central Texas 

Native ground covers for rocky, shady slope in Arlington, TX 

Plants to prevent creekside erosion in Nacogdoches County, Texas  

   As the above discussions don’t really address trees, this is a good opportunity to also discuss the method of using the Wildflower Centers collections to identify more candidates.  One of the links  listed on every page is “Special Collections”.  From that page, you can choose the collection for your area.  In this case, the “North Central Texas” collection is one of the appropriate ones.

   These lists can be reduced to plants with specific characteristics. Selecting “Trees”, there are 30 candidates to consider.  You can then read in the plant record notes on soil, native habitat, speed of growth and several other characteristics that may be important to you in choice of tree.

From these discussions, the plants below may well be good for your application:

Shrubs:    Hibiscus laevis (Halberdleaf rosemallow), Cephalanthus occidentalis (Common buttonbush), Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon)Mahonia trifoliolata (Agarita), Morella cerifera (Wax myrtle)

Trees:

Moist, Rich soil -   Acer negundo (Ash-leaf maple)Aesculus glabra (Ohio buckeye), Juglans nigra (Black walnut),  

Rocky soil - Carya texana (Black hickory)Diospyros texana (Texas persimmon)Juniperus ashei (Ashe juniper)Rhus lanceolata (Prairie flameleaf sumac)

 

From the Image Gallery


Halberdleaf rosemallow
Hibiscus laevis

Common buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis

Yaupon
Ilex vomitoria

Agarita
Mahonia trifoliolata

Box elder
Acer negundo

Ohio buckeye
Aesculus glabra

Black walnut
Juglans nigra

Wax myrtle
Morella cerifera

Texas persimmon
Diospyros texana

Ashe juniper
Juniperus ashei

Prairie flameleaf sumac
Rhus lanceolata

More Erosion Control Questions

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August 14, 2013 - How about erosion control at the edge of an artificial lake in Southern California? Juncus and ..?
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California native bunch grasses good for erosion control
November 21, 2010 - In response to your answer about deep rooted native plants good for erosion control, don't forget to include native bunchgrasses. here in California, our bunchgrasses have roots that go 10ft, 20ft de...
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Hillside Erosion in Pace FL
July 17, 2015 - I have a hillside that slopes down about 10 feet to a spring fed pond. The pond drains into Escambia Bay. We have 2 dams with culverts to control the flow of water. Last year during a torrential ra...
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Erosion control on slope from Columbia SC
April 25, 2013 - We are in the process of having a new home built in Columbia South Carolina. Part of the front yard has a steep slope starting approximately four feet from the corner of the house and running to the ...
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Full Sun, Wind-Tolerant Shrubs and Vines for Steep MN Hillside
June 26, 2013 - My neighbor and I share a very steep, large (in total almost 200 ft. wide) west-facing hillside in Excelsior, MN on Lake Minnetonka. We both have a flat grass area at the bottom so the hillside does n...
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